Motivation

Engineering is a profession that is notoriously known for its lack of gender diversity, with women being an underrepresented group in almost every division. Today, only 13.6% of the engineering labour force in Australia are women (source: Engineers Australia). This skewed statistic is something we at MUEEC aim to change.

There is no doubt that the engineering industry can tangibly benefit from an increase in gender diversity. A varied workforce promotes team dynamics conducive for better problem-solving, thus leading to better overall business management and a more accurate reflection of today’s increasingly diverse customer base. Today, the industry is recognizing the importance of gender diversity on a global scale, with more companies creating initiatives to hire women. It really is an exciting time to be a young woman choosing the engineering pathway as there are more opportunities now than ever.

As such, we aim to attract and encourage more young women to take an interest in STEM-based careers and debunk the gender stereotypes that exist through a fun and practical weekend-long engineering fest: a hackathon.